Big Kings cup storm, 5 boats wrecked on the beach

[Murky 1]

That's right, all those owners and crew who struggled and saw their boats wrecked deserve a jolly good telling-off as well for daring to...actually why?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfv4WO2mvgY

[wheels 543]

No don't take me wrong Murky. I ain't telling no one off. I am finding it hard to believe is all and if anything, want to know some facts. And that is based on the info up till that Vid you just posted. It shows how horrific it was, but then it also raises further questions. Like, was there no better place to Anchor? that is some serious Surf and I would suggest it is the Surf and not the wind that has caused those boats to drag. Surf coupled with not enough Rode.

No, certainly not telling anyone off or telling anything.i feel very saddened to see so many boats in this situation. Actually I would for even just one boat in this situation.

[VERGE 1]

I think Kip gave a good description of the conditions that can occur at Kata.

It is a fine sand anchorage, similar to the silica sand beaches of the far North of NZ. When I visited with Kip he carried a very large Plough (20kg?)and considerable chain for his Shaw 650 as locals/research had made him aware of the limitations anchoring here.

The end where these yachts appear to be is shallower hence in a storm the swell will increase amplitude compared to the other end and deeper water further out. On Sailing Anarchy someone has suggested that perhaps initially one went and collected others along the way.

Without being there we will never really be qualified to comment but will have to rely on the reports and experience of those that were. A very sad sight to see so many affected both yachts and crew.

[Guest]

Lying in the tropical convergence zone the Strait of Malacca and West Coast of the Malay Penninsula enjoy long periods of sultry weather and light winds.

 

But the absence of wind and the intense heat cause enormous thermal activity, particularly in the highlands of Sumatra. These thermals* often reach over 30,000 feet and then, when the land cools in the evening, tend to drift offshore with the land breeze and then charge up and down the Strait, and often cross the Penninsula before dissipating off the east coast. Essentially, these 'Sumatras' (I'm not sure what the Southern Thais call them) are mini tropical cyclones.

 

My guess is that this storm may have been a Sumatra which ranged further north than usual.

 

They will typically pack winds of 40-50 knots, although I've experienced much higher.

 

The secret, when confronted with a sumatra, is to reef and go hard on the wind and it will quickly pass. If you choose to run before it you can end up charging around the ocean for hours.

 

Woe-betide anyone who chooses to sit off a west coast beach on a picnic anchor - which would seem to have been the problem here.

 

* It is said that the Royal Airforce lost more planes to these thermals during WW2, than they did to enemy action.

[Guest]

You'll probably find many were parked on 'race rodes' which aren't up to conditions like that. They are legal and fit the Regs but absolute minimum if not below by normal anchoring gears standards. The same gear is Spec'ed and used here. Some boats (a fairly significant %) do carry more than minimum, some only the bare minimum.

 

The chance of the same thing happening here should a nasty like that arrive unexpectedly is no different than it is over there.

[B00B00 310]

often 20-30 knot gusts sweeping down the hills....so it isn't uncommon for boats to drag out to sea -

Isn't uncommon

50kts, I would think, hmmm poor anchoring techniques. 60kts yeah that's getting a little fresh and chances are one or two poorly kept are going to give. 70kts and up, well yeah thats a real storm, but even then, it is something we all expect at least once a year here and those with these kind of boats should be able to handle it. Above 70kts I would say yeah now they have an excuse.

So what am I missing???? Is it poor holding, or is it because they are racing and carrying small tackle? or??? I mean lets face it, they are in an area that at this time of the year is frequanted by some very big storms is it not? and not carrying decent ground tackle is really taking a risk.

 

Come on guys lets get real here, Your 50kts is talking about anchoring in a very sheltered bay in the marlbrough sounds with some think mud to dig an anchor deep in. maybe a 1ft chop at worst. 50kts under anchor is a major anywhere in the world, any right minded person will find the most sheltered anchorage and put out some serious gear if not 2. I would not expect my standard anchor to hold as is in 50kts, it might hold but I would never risk it. I would at least stick another bunch of chain or an anchor buddy down or 2 anchors.

50kts in this situation would have been worse than being out in the open ocean.

yes no doubt some boats were probably under done in both the anchors rodes and scope, mostly the multihull who were right in close to the beach- but alot were fine. remember that there was over 120 boats in the bay with nearly half of them inside the surf line and gettign hammered.

Our anchor was massive, same with most of the race boats, the anchors were left on the bottom with the dingy tied to them during racing and both racing anchors were on board as per safety regs. we had about 30m 1/2' chain with 2 sand bags on the end of the chain and then about 50m of warp, this was in 15m of water. our boat (TP52) didnt move + we allways had someone on board. This was the same as with most of the racing fleet. No true race boats dragged anchor as they were in deeper water.

We watched a cat that was in the surf line slowly come into the beach, the anchor was holding very well and there was plenty of line out but simply in a 2m breaking wave no anchor is going to hold a boat.

The sea state was much worse than forecast, they were talking about up to 20kts but in reality there was over 30 and some massive waves. the waves were generated by a storm over 100nm away so were not forecast to be that bad.

You could see the large sets coming in and breaking well out in the bay, the boats were taking a hammering and many of them held anchor untill people could get out to them whcih was very very dificult. I would say that it was actually impressive how many of the boats held on in some henoius conditions.

I personally have never seen anything like this, i have seen some henious storms on anchor and never ever with any sea state anything like this, to give you an idea one wave broke and completley obsured a platu rig, I mean higher than a platu rig! The same wave picked up a 25ft beneteau and rolled it several times into the beach along with several fizz boats and ribs as if they were bath tub toys, this boat had been holding anchor all morning untill this massive set came thru and just snapped the anchor line, it takes a BIG wave to do that. the surf right in the beach was very small compared to what it was further offshore, it is a shallow bay.

[smithy09 50]

Wow! Thanks Booboo. That puts it all into perspective I guess. Sounds just horrific. Good idea mooring the dinghy with the heavy tackle while you're racing.. Sounds like everyone was pretty responsible about anchoring, just overwhelming conditions. Higher than a Platu mast?? Bloody hell..

[Guest]

So it's known to be an arse of a spot to be anchored in then, judging by the size of some of that gear. All the more reason knot to anchor in close or take forecasts as gospel.

 

Guessing most of the boats that came ashore are write offs? Shame, some good looks beast there.

[B00B00 310]

Here are some photos of the Elan 34. This boat was rolled in the surf and is a total loss.

[wheels 543]

Not a complete Loss BooBoo. That SST rail on the Starboard Aft Corner looks like it's salvageable

Nah seriosly, that is really sad. It just breaks your heart seeing something like that.